Mark Willard & Ephraim Salaam React to Steph Curry's Return, Geno Auriemma's Crashout, Lakers Injuries & More!

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
I mean, I guess it'll happen to all of us
at some point or another. Whatever it is you do
in life, at some point someone's gonna say, Man, it's
passed you by, your time is up, you need to quit.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
Whatever it may be.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
We're broadcasting a lot from the Fox Sports Radio studios.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
I mean, we can disprove it.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
There have been plenty of old people out there doing
their jobs doing it well, especially in coaching. So I'm
not a big fany from I don't know if you
are necessarily the game has passed you by. To me,
it depends to what level do you evolve. And here
is what I'm talking about. Have we passed the time

(00:43):
in our lives? And you can like this or not,
but it's just a yes or no question. I would say,
have we passed the time in our lives? For example,
when a sporting event gets started, do we need to
all get together and prop early, show our respects to
one another, shake the right hands, wave in the right spots.

(01:05):
And therefore if you don't do that, is it disrespectful?
This is what I want to get into with Geno
ri Ema. But first, hey, good evening, good evening. What's
going on?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
Man?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
I'm killing man? How you doing cool? I'm great, I'm great.
I'm glad Geno apologized. I'll start with that. Yeah, I'm
glad he apologized, but then down Staley made a mockery
of him by like making it a big show in
the national title game today. You mean to tell me

(01:38):
that all of that and we'll play the sound for
you in a second. That was all about you didn't
come and say hi to me before the game?

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Come on, what are we actually talking about here?

Speaker 4 (01:51):
The wrong thing?

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Okay, what's the right thing?

Speaker 4 (01:56):
The game is always the right thing. It can't ever
be bigger than the game, and they can't ever distract
from the actual game. And I say that to say,
you know, shout out to UCLA women YEP for putting
the hammer down on South Carolina. You know who's made
it a perennial, yearly thing to be in the championship game.

(02:20):
Don Staley is a tremendous coach. But do u c
l A Bruins. They came in today with bad intentions.
There was no distraction. There was no no, you know,
no distraction coming off the last game or who thought
what and who felt what and why they did or
ripped jersey. It was just hammer down and it started

(02:43):
from the jump and it just they I mean, they
dominated a dominant team, dominated a dominant team.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Pretty good performance and it wasn't for a title. But
I would say the same thing about what Michigan did
last night. Oh goodness, right, I didn't see that one coming.
You're thirty on Arizona.

Speaker 4 (03:02):
That was it was like what happening right now? Right?
It wasn't even I mean, it was hard to watch.
After a while, I was like, Okay, I.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Was expecting a great game and we didn't get it.

Speaker 4 (03:14):
No, no, no, no, no. I thought for sure that game.
Both spent time at number one, the overall number one
team in the country this year, and they both had size, athleticism,
shot makers. But that's sport. That's sport, that's basketball, that's
football as baseball. Sometimes you know, the other team shows

(03:39):
up in a way that you don't, and it's heartbreaking,
especially when it's big moments like that. It's South Carolina
a better team.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah yeah, probably, I mean we're to the wise, probably
for Michigan, right, And like there have been times in
sports throughout the years, where I think we feel like this,
We feel like the Cowboys.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
And Niners in the nineties.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
This used to be the thing, like the semi final
was actually the final.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
But you gotta be careful sometimes.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Never forget when South Carolina first a handful of years
ago beat Yukon and and you know, ended that that
tremendous streak and all of that, and then went and
you know, they did not win the game in the
actual final. So same thing for Michigan and maybe the
same thing for South Carolina. When you put all of

(04:32):
that emotion into the semi final because you think that's
the one you gotta win, you gotta remember to.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
Bring your game.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, you gotta remember game game two nights later, because
there's another really good team, maybe not as good, but
another really good team is sitting there waiting.

Speaker 4 (04:46):
Yeah, and it's gonna be interesting to see how Michigan
shows up.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
Tomorrow, yep, you.

Speaker 4 (04:54):
Know, to a Yukon team that's that's hungry. They know
what this feels like, third time in four years, So
it'll be really interesting to see if they if they
come ready to go.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Let me ask you this though, because kind of getting
back to the whole coaching thing like, here's my quick
read on at Gino. You weren't actually mad at Dawn.
You were mad at the refs. And right, you were
actually mad at the refs, and that's fine, and we've
all done that. There's not a human being listening to
us right now that hasn't done the whole like you

(05:29):
take it out on someone else when you were actually
mad about this thing over here. It happens a very
human thing, and I firmly believe that that's what happened
the other night with Gino. But there's just a couple
of things for me, in other words, like to address
on this, I would say, like, at first, one thing

(05:52):
I and I don't know if you agree.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
I don't know if we've had this conversation before.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
One thing I'd say in general about spool worts is
to a point, I would rather start letting people say
what they need to say about officiating, umpiring, whatever the whole,
like it's taboo thing, like I can't say this in

(06:17):
a press conference or else I'm gonna get fined. I've
never understood that you go to the press conference and
say so many things about so much different stuff, but
if you suddenly get to this this one thing.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
Now you're gonna be fined for it.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
I'm not calling it open season, Like, let's just go
to press conferences and start calling officials out by name
and let's get profane about it or anything like that.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
Why is that so taboo? Though?

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Like because maybe if Gino was in a spot and
he did let loose a little bit, but it was
in a general sense about fouls in a sideline sort
of a quick interview, But maybe the whole like taking
it out on someone else's thing, wouldn't happen as much
if coaches or anyone for that matter, was a little

(07:07):
bit more able to speak freely when it comes to
what they're actually ticked off about.

Speaker 4 (07:12):
I think most coaches, especially good coaches, don't want it
to feel like they're blaming someone, so they hesitate because
you don't want to be the guy always pointing the finger.
You don't want to be the Luca of coaches, right,
I mean that gets annoying, no matter how great you are,
Sure that gets a bit annoying. Coaches are aware of that,

(07:35):
they're cognizant of that, and so sometimes they swallow a
lot and then you know, sometimes they by a pop
you know, the bigger the game, the more likely the
pop if you've been suppressing and pushing things down.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
That's fair. I always find it funny though. In fact,
even Geno's comments, well again, we'll play the play by
play here in just a second, but in the middle
of this interview is like, I'm not making excuses, but well,
but then what is it? And by the way, why
do we have to suddenly refer to those things as excuses,

(08:14):
Like those things can be real.

Speaker 4 (08:17):
Yeah, but it's like the officials, but the.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
Officials can mess up and it affects games.

Speaker 4 (08:22):
Yeah, but the first this is a perfect example. Okay,
remember the whole situation I went to through two weeks
ago with with the AA, I mean not AA, with
the red ball and teams and doing what they're doing.
We lost that game, so it came across I'm sure,

(08:42):
to the board. In addition, no matter how much proof
we had, which we had solid proof, that it was
because we lost the game. And that's why I even
hesitated to do it. But the more information I found out,
I was like, well, at least I'm going to give
a voice to people who don't have a voice from
that park. So that's really why I didn't expect anything

(09:04):
to happen in terms of them to turn, overturn it
or do anything like that. But that's what it literally
was for, is because you know, it'll all you. They'll
always point to you as, oh, they're mad because they lost,
and that wasn't the case. We lost, and I was

(09:26):
gracious in the loss at the end, at the end
of the night, I was I was gracious, and and
I got it and and everything. But when I started
really looking and finding out the information, that's when I
was like, wait, something's not right here. And so you know,
I rose, raised my hand up and then.

Speaker 3 (09:44):
Told right as you should.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
But for a vast majority of people, even our listeners,
it probably came off as oh, he's only doing that
because he lost.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Well, I mean, the bottom line is is what happened
in that particular scenario would have been a real thing
even if.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
You had won.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
That's true, but it probably comes to light a little
bit less actually, because in fact, I don't even know
if that other team would have still been in the
room to accept any trophies or whatever in the way
that you sort of noticed all of that.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
So that's all I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
I just think when people don't want to hear something,
they call it an excuse. That doesn't mean it didn't happen.
That doesn't mean it's not real. Maybe we should all
be golfers a little bit more. If you've ever golfed before,
you know, damn well, there's an excuse for every shot.
There's never ever, ever like I just took a bad swing.
I've never heard of golfer say that it's the wind

(10:39):
and this and then that and my back and my whatever.
But anyway, let's back up a second and let everybody
hear kind of what took place. This is in the
semi final game on Thursday. Late in the game, South
Carolina beats up Yukon pretty good. This is right before
the fourth quarter, and Yukon head coach Gino Rim has

(11:01):
a sideline interview and this is what it sounded like, Well, coach.

Speaker 1 (11:05):
A kind of wild turn of events. Very Strong's jersey
is split right.

Speaker 5 (11:09):
Down the middle.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
I saw you speaking to the reps about it. What
the message did you try to convey?

Speaker 4 (11:13):
Right?

Speaker 6 (11:14):
There were six pounds called that quarter, all of them
against us, and they've been beating it out of our
guys down there.

Speaker 3 (11:20):
The entire game.

Speaker 6 (11:21):
I'm not making excuses because we haven't been able to
make a shot, but.

Speaker 3 (11:25):
This is ridiculous.

Speaker 6 (11:26):
Their coach Ransom raves on the sideline and called for
the referee some names you don't want to hear. And
now we get six to zero and I got a
kid with a rip jersey and they go, I didn't
see it.

Speaker 7 (11:37):
Come on, man, this is for the National Championship.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
Okay, you know what else I just noticed and listening
to that, Gino was led to water, so he drank.
The question was about the reps, So I have actually
zero issue with that, except for the part where he
starts talking about what Dawn Stanley says to the reps. Yeah,
that's up to Don Staley, right, that's up to her,

(12:04):
and and and miss me with old words that you
don't even want to hear. You're all using all those words.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
Exactly. So that's actually the only issue I have with it.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
But then of course there's also as the game ends,
there's what Gino says to Don Staley as everyone is departing,
and we have the play by play of that as well.

Speaker 8 (12:28):
Every one final inbound here the officials will hold the players.
Now Don and Gino getting into it a little bit
on the sideline as Gino has to be held back
and Don and Gino that's part of what makes this rivally.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
Such a compelling one as they exchanged words of center cord.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
So this is where this all ends up.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
Coming up next, we'll let you what Don Staley had
to say about it, because for me, even Dan Hurley
coaching in the National Championship Game again tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (13:07):
Night on the men's side is sort of a factor in.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
All of this because I think what was at the
center of this issue to me is kind of an
expired opinion on the part of Geno Arima. Let's get
to that though in just a second. We're live in
the Fox Sports Radio studios. Glad you're with us tonight.
We got all kinds of stuff NBA, NFL as well.
The Lakers are playing right now. They're down a couple

(13:32):
stars now heading into the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (13:34):
We'll get to that.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
Steph Curry's going to return here in about an hour
and forty five minutes. All kinds of good stuff. That's
e from my market's Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (13:43):
Hey, it's me Rob Parker.

Speaker 9 (13:46):
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(14:06):
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Speaker 2 (14:25):
So we're seeing live in the Fox Sports Radio studios
de Sega.

Speaker 3 (14:28):
In eight minutes.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
Cooper Flag is already on fifty point alert again, had
fifty in his last game. He got twenty two at
the seven minute mark of the second quarter tonight on fire.

Speaker 3 (14:40):
He looks unbelievable.

Speaker 4 (14:41):
We sh it wasn't against us.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
Oh my goodness, Well your version of us is not
what it was about forty eight hours ago.

Speaker 3 (14:49):
So game, my goodness. We got a lot to.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
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(15:13):
the question I'm trying to.

Speaker 3 (15:14):
Ask is is it cool.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
For the way to go about interacting with one another
sports traditions before the game, after the.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
Game, whatever.

Speaker 2 (15:27):
Let that evolve without people kind of saying you're a
poor sport. In other words, if don Staley doesn't have
some sort of like connect and let's talk between her
and Gino Ariema before the game starts, is that disrespectful?

Speaker 3 (15:47):
I don't find that to be disrespectful.

Speaker 4 (15:49):
No, I don't fought people before and after games because
I can't tell you what they do or what they
need to do to get ready for a game, and
how they feel after a game. What's the process? When
I was dating my wife, and this is many moons ago, okay,

(16:13):
and I was still playing and after games, she had
to learn that even if we won, Like I remember
the first game she came, we won, and she was
just like, oh my god, this is amazing or this
and that, and I was just like huh huh, right,
Like we were walking out, she was trying to grab
my hand. I just what it took me to get

(16:37):
myself mentally prepared to play at that level for three
hours at a brutal sport. It took more than twenty
minutes to come down from.

Speaker 2 (16:49):
But you're talking about something I have always been curious about,
which is.

Speaker 3 (16:56):
And I know most fans don't know this. I'm not
even saying that I do.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
But my perception of what it takes, especially in the NFL,
for a player to be that maniacal to be able
to handle what happens out there, and then we just
turn you right around and send.

Speaker 4 (17:17):
You home or ask you some all right questions right
to poke at.

Speaker 2 (17:21):
It, or send you to a podium, or send you
to a car, to send you to a restaurant or whatever.

Speaker 4 (17:28):
Like yes, it's.

Speaker 3 (17:31):
Like I'm not here.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
I am again, like Geno, I'm not making excuses, but
I get it. Like that's that is difficult to ask
a human being to oscillate that far.

Speaker 4 (17:43):
It's one of the toughest things to do, and it's
one of the hardest lessons as an athlete to learn.
Number One, we all have different backgrounds, we all come
from a different place, we all handle things and prepare
and do all those things different. So to have a
blanket this is how it's supposed to go. Yeah, it's not.
It's that there's no uniformity to that, dude. No one
can tell you how to lose or how to win

(18:05):
like it's it's an individual thing. As you get older
and as you learn and you play longer, you learn
certain things. Right, You learn how to take a breath
before you go to the podum. You learn how to
give yourself extra time in the locker room before you
come out and address your family. So instead of coming
out in thirty minutes, now I'm coming out in an

(18:25):
hour hour, twenty minutes. I've decompressed, I've left some of
the angst and the you know, the adrenaline in the
locker room before I saw my family. And those are
the things you learn as you do this more and more.
There's no handbook. There's no one telling you how to

(18:46):
do these things. So when you hear players at podiums
that we love the sound bite and blast everywhere, and
there's a reporter who they specialize in this. Members of
the media specialize annoying exactly what to ask to elicit
something from individuals they know they can get get stuff from.

(19:07):
That's that's what they do it for sure. Well, I'm
just a journalist. I'm just trying to ask the tough questions.
That's why they will ask you the same question four
or five different times.

Speaker 2 (19:18):
Although sometimes and I'm like, I'll pick up here and
I know you get this, Like sometimes it can both
be the right question to ask and sup and super
frustrating and annoying.

Speaker 4 (19:29):
At the same time.

Speaker 3 (19:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (19:29):
Absolutely, I mean more times than not, that's the case. Yeah, correct, correct,
that's why. And now it becomes a problem when you
get that you get an answer, but it's not an
answer you want as a reporter, right, and then you
ask it again, and then you ask it again. Now
it becomes oh, okay, non this disrespectful. Right, So now

(19:51):
now it becomes something else.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
And everybody's trying to either try everybody in the room
is trying to effectively do their job.

Speaker 3 (20:02):
Yes, and some jobs fight with other jobs, like do
you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
Yeah, delivery driver is trying to go somewhere on time
and the construction crew is causing a delay. Well, everybody
is just trying to do their job well and and
those things, but heads right right right.

Speaker 4 (20:25):
Those things, but heads. And this is one of those
situations where you know coaches, especially coaches, they're trained, they're
media trained, their media early athletes, no one was We
didn't do it was no media training classes. What Now

(20:46):
there are things in place, but before it was just
like no, you just you know. It became a situation
where it was like I'm gonna go ahead and shoot,
I never forget we're playing. Was it Kansas City? I think?

(21:07):
And I was in Houston and Trent Green got knocked
out of the game. He got knocked out of the
game because he had it was a reverse and he
had a blind side block on one of our defensive
tackles and it was it was an illegal block. He
cut him down at the knees, but his knees, his knees,

(21:29):
his head hit hit our player's knee and it literally,
it literally knocked him out. And so uh, Travis got
up and stood over him and he was like pointing
down at him, and the media couldn't wait to get that.
Trent left the game in the hospital hole nine yards.

(21:52):
They had to get the stretcher. The media could not
wait to come in and talk to him and my, my, my, uh,
my seat was right next to him, and he was like,
first off, I want to say, f Trink Green. Trin
Green's in the hospital. And I was like, oh no, no, no, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.
Right Like that was one of those situations where our

(22:16):
head a media should have just took Travis into the bag,
said hey, calm down, cool down, right now, this is right.
They they're gonna want to talk about it. And I
allowed him. Let everyone else go talk to him about,
you know, how Trent Green is doing, because he didn't

(22:37):
know he was, you know, in the hospital and all that.
So those are the types of things. And that was
this out that was the that was in front of
the paper.

Speaker 3 (22:44):
I remember that game.

Speaker 4 (22:45):
I remember that.

Speaker 3 (22:45):
I remember this game.

Speaker 2 (22:46):
I really yeah, yeah, I remember exactly what you're talking about.

Speaker 3 (22:49):
I had no idea you were standing right next to it.
I was right there. That's crazy. That's a real thing. Yep, yep.

Speaker 4 (22:57):
You know what else is a real thing? I do
to sayer A real one.

Speaker 7 (23:02):
Hello, gentlemen. And by the way, I think Mark would
immediately confirm this. As reporters in our lives, we spend
many a minute waiting outside the locker room after a
game until they open the doors for us. That weight
is called actually the cooling off period, right, And there's
a reason for that. Sometimes it's so ballplayers can go

(23:22):
hide in the showers and not speak to you. But
normally it's just for the whole cooling off of thing.
And if you talked about what went on Friday night
as to the women's semi finals, Stacy Dales, who's not
only a reporter but former women's basketball player, tweeted that
night Don Staley shook hands pregame. But let's call it
what it is. She won three Olympic gold medals as
a player. She never gives pregame hugs. I played against

(23:45):
her evil eye all the way. She hates her ouponent.
She's always of integrity. But wild that she got in
Gino's head end quote.

Speaker 3 (23:53):
Good, Yeah, Like why is it?

Speaker 2 (23:56):
Cal Wally and Randya Rosa Rain are out here meeting
uggin each other. They're in the World Baseball Classic and
the world goes, yeah, they're being intense, but the coach
can't do it?

Speaker 3 (24:06):
Why not?

Speaker 7 (24:08):
Well, as we get to women's hoops, what happened today?
AP points out that the Big Ten Conference has already
this school year won the title in football with Indiana
and now women's basketball with UCLA, and women's hockey title
with Wisconsin. And men's hoops Michigan is in the final
tomorrow night, and this week Wisconsin is in the Frozen
four for the men's hockey possible title. We had South Carolina,

(24:32):
the team that had upset number one Yukon in the Semis,
lose seventy nine fifty one in the National Championship game
to Ucla today. South Carolina shot twenty nine percent from
the floor in the first half, had its worst shooting
half in over three years. The Bruins finished thirty seven
to one. The only loss was against Texas in November

(24:53):
in Las Vegas, and UCLA just defeated Texas in the semifinals.
The men's final is Monday night, Michigan against Connecticut. Yukon
guard Solo Ball has a sprain foot. Michigan's All American
Yaxel Indeborg will play through ankle and knee injuries. Steve Kerr,
Golden State head coach, says yes. Steph Curry is scheduled

(25:13):
to play tonight. That is the NBA game ten PM.
Eastern Time. Golden State hosts a Houston team that has
won five in a row. Curry returns after missing twenty
seven games with the bad knee. The plan is quote
to play him in shorter bursts tonight throughout about twenty
five minutes. For what it's worth. As for the games
in progress, Charlotte leads at Minnesota seventy one sixty six

(25:36):
mid third quarter long on Charlotte LaMelo ball with twenty
three points. Minnesota not not with Anthony Edwards again. He's
missed eight of their last ten games with a knee injury.
He tried to play Friday, but shot three to fifteen
from the floor. Cleveland pulled away for a victory at
home against Indiana tonight, won seventeen one o eight, Donovan
Mitchell thirty eight points, James Harden with twenty eight Brooklyn's

(26:00):
and Washington to its six straight loss one twenty one,
one fifteen. There were people that add actual tickets to
see the Nets play the Wizards.

Speaker 3 (26:08):
It would use a free tickets, Yeah, it's one.

Speaker 4 (26:12):
You got to give those away and voucher for some
food I want who.

Speaker 2 (26:16):
Drove there and paid for parking. Those are the people
I want to talk to.

Speaker 7 (26:19):
It's just if somebody had compassion at the home arena,
they would say it's free hot dog night or something
like that. Thank you for attending.

Speaker 2 (26:27):
As you interview all those people, they'd be like you
trying to get away from your spouse, aren't you?

Speaker 4 (26:31):
Do you need lightings going on in you?

Speaker 3 (26:33):
What you got going on at home that would make
you come here?

Speaker 7 (26:35):
So there's the matchup we should be sending to London, NFL.
The Nets record is now nineteen and fifty nine, Washington
is seventeen and sixty one. The Wizard's quite familiar with
sixty loss seasons these days. Milwaukee won thirty one one
fifteen over Memphis Phoenix hand at Chicago is seventh straight
loss one twenty to one, ten thirty points for Devin Booker,

(26:58):
and Boston beat Toronto fifth fifteen to oneh one. The
NBA regular season ends next Sunday. Already all teams will
be playing that day, and then the play in tournament
starts April fourteenth. Playoffs, you know, the real playoffs start
April the eighteenth. As for the NHL News, among the

(27:18):
seven games, overtime win for Philadelphia against Boston two to one,
Ottawa beat Carolina six to three. The Islanders fired coach
Patrick Wab Peter de Bor replaced him. JJ Spahn won
the Texas opened by one stroke. NASCAR's Cup Series was
off this Easter weekend. Next weekend, nascars on FS one
again from Bristol, Tennessee. As for the late afternoon baseball,

(27:40):
the A's in Sacramento in ten innings beat Houston on
a three run homer by Brent Rooker twelve ten. The
final Houston Star pitcher Hunter Brown went on the injured
list with a sprain shoulder. He finished third in Cy
Young voting last year. The Angels in eleven innings beat
Seattle eight to seven. And guys, if you didn't hear this,
we played the cut of it on the show line
last night after it happened. There is an a Rosarina

(28:03):
tight player that the Angels had been waiting to be good.
One of their top prospects actually became a starter last season.
Joe Adell, their right fielder. Early in the game, robbed
a home run leaping above the yellow line at the
right field wall. And then the eighth inning a ball
to deep right and he did the same thing, leaping
up above the yellow line to rob another homer, and

(28:24):
then in the ninth, with his team still up one
nothing on a leadoff homer in the first, it remained
one nothing to the top of the ninth, Seattle hits
it deep to right. He leaps at the low wall
by the foul pole, makes the catch and goes into
the crowd, robbing a third home run in one game.
The stat came out that last year league wide, Fernando

(28:48):
Tatist Junior or the Padres, robbed four home runs for
the whole season, that tied for the most such things
in the league, in all of the majors, this guy
did it three times against It's one team, one game,
one night.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
Back to you silly question about those plays, Steve and apram,
I would love to hear from you on both of these.
First of all, if you haven't been online, if you
haven't seen the picture that somebody in the right field
seats right behind Jodel, the picture that somebody got of
him standing in the stands holding up the ball and

(29:24):
next to all of the fans holding their hands up.

Speaker 3 (29:27):
It's one of the greatest sports pictures I've ever seen.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
But how do you all feel about I catch the
ball when I'm in the air, then I go over
the fence.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
The ball is over the fence, and it's not a homer.

Speaker 7 (29:42):
This is the video review that they had, and I thought,
after review, Oh, they're not going to count this because
he landed in row one. He didn't bring it back
in play. And I think the reasoning is at the
New York replay office that he had control of the
ball in the field of play and hadn't crossed over it.
That's my only guess.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
So I don't know the rule that well. But his
arm is way over the fence when he catches that ball.
But I sort of liking it more too. Let's say,
like we're watching basketball right now, we're watching Lakers and MAVs.
If the ball is going out of bounds and you
jump from him bounds and possess the ball, but then
you don't throw it back.

Speaker 4 (30:22):
In and it's right.

Speaker 7 (30:23):
It's like the old timeouts that Rodman used to take,
and then they eventually out lied that before.

Speaker 3 (30:29):
You out of bounds. If you're holding the ball out
of bounds, then you're out of bound.

Speaker 7 (30:33):
I'll but remember the fame Derek Jeter catch where he
ran all the way from short step to the you know,
way down the third base line seats and made the
catch and then essentially broke his nose into one of
the seats, flying into the stands. That was a catch.
He didn't land in the field to play.

Speaker 2 (30:49):
Correct, But also like, at no point are those balls
even in the field of play, Like, it wouldn't have
been a hit if you didn't catch it, I guess
would be there. Again, I don't even necessarily I don't
have a problem with it. I just think it's interesting
in any other sport, Like again, football player back in
the end zone, leaps, catches, comes down out of bounds.

Speaker 3 (31:09):
You're at the bounds.

Speaker 7 (31:10):
Yeah, they used to have the force out.

Speaker 3 (31:12):
Yeah, like you you are where you land with the ball.
But not in.

Speaker 7 (31:16):
Baseball, assuming it's a catch like last night. Right, he
wasn't actually in the first row when he made.

Speaker 3 (31:25):
The catch, But he wasn't on the ground either.

Speaker 7 (31:27):
No, he was nuts.

Speaker 4 (31:28):
He und the ball is out.

Speaker 7 (31:30):
He was actually on top of that little you know
how there's a low wall down the line that the
Dodgers and Angels.

Speaker 4 (31:36):
Have climb the gate, climb up the wall, sit in
the stands. I like it.

Speaker 7 (31:41):
You're not that far off. I have seen a clip
of a Japanese ball game where the outfielder literally climbed
up the wall and stood on top of the wall
to make the catch.

Speaker 4 (31:51):
Man, if you could athletically, if you can accomplish that,
you should be rewarded.

Speaker 2 (31:56):
I mean there are a number of stadiums where you
could do that. You could climb him into the stands
to the second row.

Speaker 4 (32:02):
I'm sitting right next to the hot dog and pretzel,
and I'm.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
Right who was it? That was it Mark Sanchez? Who
ate the hot dog on the sidelines? Mark Sanchez?

Speaker 4 (32:13):
We all did he just get caught?

Speaker 3 (32:15):
See? Well, there you go.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
Can you get to the second row and start eating
a hot dog prior to catching the ball?

Speaker 7 (32:21):
Don Mattingly, when he was first baseman went over for
a foul ball and stole a handful of a kid's
popcorn and then then went back to first place.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
Can you imagine if you did that today? They won't
even let you keep your own foul balls anymore. You
have to give everything, do it? No, it is true.
You if you catch a foul ball as a grown
ass man in twenty twenty six, and there are any
children near you, look, and you don't give it to them.

Speaker 4 (32:47):
No, no, no, no, you do have to give it.

Speaker 10 (32:48):
They will boo you now, yes, exactly, yes, you cannot
keep that ball anymore.

Speaker 4 (32:55):
That my fault. The kid doesn't have the dicks there
at each.

Speaker 7 (32:59):
By the way, updating the Lakers that you referenced to,
Cooper Flag now twenty six points in the first half.

Speaker 2 (33:05):
Okay, he had nineteen in the first but yeah, he's
on fifty point watches.

Speaker 7 (33:11):
This is the Laker team that we saw all season
until about a month ago. Right, It's gonna be almost
seventy points in the first half for Dallas, So the
Lakers are going to feel like, hey, we're in this game.
It's only abound sixty seven to sixty one. You can't
stop them. The game is over.

Speaker 4 (33:25):
No, you can't stop them. But I mean when you
lose what essentially eighty points out of your starting lineup,
thirty points, I mean.

Speaker 7 (33:34):
Sixty from Luca another twenty from Austin.

Speaker 4 (33:36):
Reeeds, and I mean, what are you going to do
so that did? You have to just keep it close?
Then hope Lebron can do something specially.

Speaker 7 (33:43):
By the way, with scoring. I think it was Miami
last night they scored over one hundred and fifty and
Haimi Hawkes had a great game over thirty off the
bench and immediately got on a plane and made it
to Phoenix in time to see his sister have the
game of her life. Love it winning the championship.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
That's incredible and I'm surprised he didn't ask for load management.

Speaker 7 (34:05):
But there was a picture today the Marlins used their
closer in the first inning because he was going on
paternity leave this week.

Speaker 3 (34:12):
Love that. Yeah, we get live it in where you
can fit it in. Man, you know.

Speaker 7 (34:16):
And there was a rain delay, they said can you
hang out? And still tested the first inning.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
That brain delays all over the league.

Speaker 7 (34:23):
Man, I was Dodgers yank.

Speaker 4 (34:25):
I missed the end of the Dodgers game because you know,
I tape all the games.

Speaker 7 (34:30):
It didn't keep taping, no, I mean I.

Speaker 4 (34:32):
Even taped the after show and it still ran out.

Speaker 7 (34:36):
So it was under two hours.

Speaker 4 (34:37):
Yes. When I when I well, my DVR ended, it
was still six to three, and then I looked at
the score. I said, well all.

Speaker 7 (34:48):
Right, then okay, Dodgers eight six Final and the Yankees
had three and a half hour rain delay at the
start and just finished Miami beat him seven to six.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
I took my wife out to the Giants Mets game today.
It was seventy eight degree, so they didn't win, but
still it was seventy eight degrees this year.

Speaker 3 (35:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (35:07):
So we're coming you Alive and the Fox Sports Radio studios,
and coming up next we should talk about the Lakers.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
That's what we should talk about it.

Speaker 4 (35:14):
Okay, her, let's go do that, all right.

Speaker 3 (35:16):
I Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (35:20):
You don't listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (35:22):
Radio sitting here in these Fox Sports Radio studios. We'll
get to a we'll get back to three things coming
up at the top of the hour. It's kind of
taking a two week hiatus because he from had a
story that was just flat out better. But we can
get back to it today. But speaking of a runway

(35:45):
for Ephrom, I mean I ought to let you just
kind of let the world know what kind of a
gut punch a Laker fan felt this week.

Speaker 4 (35:57):
Oh god right, I.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
Mean playing so well, actually getting to a spot where
you could, truly, I think, with your chest say no,
no actual title contender, Yes, like you you you could say.

Speaker 4 (36:14):
That defensive efficiencies spiked up offensively, sharing the ball. We
understand Luca is gonna carry the brunner of the load
in the first half, uh Lebron James being a facilitator
running the floor, fitting right into that. Austin Reeves comes
in when Luca sits uh and and is now the facility.

(36:39):
It was working everything. Jackson Hayes was playing well, even
DeAndre Ayden was playing well. And I can't you know,
I'm just like with little hands and then that, okay,
see game happened, and from the jump, like the national
championship game for the for women today UH and the

(37:00):
final four for Arizona Michigan yesterday, from the jump, the
open hand slapped to the lips was was was loud
and violent and they couldn't. They couldn't. They turned the
ball over five of the first seven possessions. Not gonna
do it against the second highest rated defensive team in

(37:22):
the league. Not not not gonna do it, and proceeded
to get just pummeled all the way to where Luca
uh strains his hamstring and then Austin Reeves Uh hurts
his oblique for him and Mookie Betts just hanging out.

Speaker 3 (37:44):
Four to six probably for both of them.

Speaker 4 (37:46):
Yeah, that sounds about right, and.

Speaker 2 (37:48):
That puts them in a situation where they're probably gonna
have to at least UH win a series and a
half without him, maybe maybe even series without him, which
feels far fetched.

Speaker 4 (38:02):
Yeah, yes, as they're currently Yes, yes, and so, my man,
look what we've learned in these playoffs. In any playoffs,
any league, any professional sports, the war of attrition is
the one you must win. The war of attrition is

(38:23):
the one you must win. You must be healthy going
into the playoffs, going uh into the tournament. All of
these things are a must. How many times have we
seen as Golden State? Right, you lose KD, you lose
the series. That's just one starter.

Speaker 3 (38:42):
Let me do you remember off the top of your head,
what was the quarter? What was the score?

Speaker 4 (38:49):
It was third quarter. They were down by thirty. Shouldn't
have been in the game. I talk that, I get it,
but you should have chalked that one up. I gotta
remember he strained it in, had issues in the first half.
I hear you with that knowledge. Hey man, come over
here and hang back. Well, let me going to come
back in this one.

Speaker 3 (39:08):
I don't disagree with you at all.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
However, I want to point out the position in which
we put teams when because what you're basically saying is
you need to have a better eye on being healthy
for the playoffs. And an NBA team might respond to
you and say, that's precisely why we do load management
throughout the year, and fans hate that.

Speaker 4 (39:34):
Yeah, I get that. You load manage when the game
is out of hand either way. Okay, that's when you
load manage. Yeah, let him play twenty six minutes a game.
If you're getting blown beaten by forty is at one
point are you up by forty let him play twenty
six minutes a game? Yeah, And I think that's what Okay,
see did the best early on No one knownhing the

(39:55):
start is played in the fourth quarter. That's how bad
they were beating team.

Speaker 2 (39:59):
Yeah, well, OKC, he's got an ability to still play
at a really high lighted.

Speaker 4 (40:03):
Do and they've got a lot of young, hungry guys
who are waiting their turn.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
When they're missing people.

Speaker 4 (40:07):
You know.

Speaker 3 (40:07):
Not a lot of teams have that.

Speaker 4 (40:09):
Yeah, And it's not a lot of teams that can
survive two all star caliber players out of the lineup
in the poves.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
No, no, no, no, no, no, they're in trouble.

Speaker 4 (40:18):
They are in trouble as much as I hate you know.
First of all, congratulations on winning fifty games yep again,
back to back, yep. Right. Tough to do in this league.
Tough to do. That's why it's only about four teams
that have fifty wins or more.

Speaker 2 (40:34):
We can we can get going on this a little
bit more coming up next in three things on Fox
Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (40:41):
Don't listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (40:43):
Radio well into the night. We go right here live
in these Fox Sports Radio studios. You've been hearing us
talk about it, the guys talking about it, Steve talking
about the Lakers and the Mavericks.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
Right now. The Warriors will play a little.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
Bit later on the night against the Houston Rockets. Is
that a big game? No, it's not a big game.
It's just a big player. Steph Curry is going to return,
and now Lebron has to get back used to the
a chair on his own basketball team, even though that's
probably not where he wants to be right now. And

(41:17):
so we'll see if the Lakers can even handle the
likes of the Dallas Mavericks. Supposed to be a game,
I'm sure when they put this on the schedule, it's
Luca back to Dallas and instead, this is what we're
looking at. We're looking at a forty one year old
basketball player trying to take over the a chair and

(41:38):
in a game that for the home team means very
very little. Yeah, but Cooper Flag is good.

Speaker 4 (41:48):
No, he's bald. Yeah, it's fun to solidify his Rookie
of the Year award against US right now.

Speaker 3 (41:56):
Yeah, and I think he might do it.

Speaker 2 (41:58):
So anyway, six o clock Pacific, nine o'clock in the East.
We do it just about every Sunday. Our top three
observations of the week. That was, let's do it three things.
Here we go, and the rule is I go first
so that Ephraim can go last. Here's my observation number one. Now,
I understand why the Rams wanted aj Brown.

Speaker 3 (42:20):
Now I get it. I didn't. I didn't.

Speaker 2 (42:22):
I didn't get it when that first came out. I'm like,
hold on a second. So Demante Adams was really good
last year, and I get that he's getting older, but
he is still really good and very professional football player.
And then meantime, Pooka Nakula might be he's right there,
top two or three in the sport and is about

(42:43):
to get this hefty, massive extension and be the number one.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
Why would the Rams want A J. Brown?

Speaker 2 (42:52):
Now I get it, because Pokin Nakua is accused of
biting someone, Pooka Nakua has made anti Semitic remarks, and
now Pooka Nicoa is in rehab and that confirmed by
his agent this week. I'm not like, I'm rooting for
the guy. I hope it comes out on the other

(43:13):
side of this. I don't know exactly what this means
going forward and certainly for the near term future, uh
for his time with the Los Angeles Rams, but this
is clearly a concern because that, in my opinion, must
be why they were poking around with AJ Brown.

Speaker 4 (43:32):
Yeah. It's funny, how you know. You hear things and
then you scratch your head, and then you get a
little bit more information a little bit later, and then
you realize, hell, okay, all right, Well you hear your
friends are getting a divorce, and you're like, oh my god,
that's crazy. And then you find one of them on

(43:53):
the street and then they start unloading all kinds of
what he did what for a year? Oh yeah he
said who?

Speaker 3 (43:58):
And what?

Speaker 4 (44:01):
Oh okay, I get it.

Speaker 2 (44:03):
We we live here in the sports media and fandom world,
and everybody gets to have opinions because that's how it works.

Speaker 3 (44:11):
But what I find normally, again.

Speaker 2 (44:13):
I'm not saying that every decision organizations make is the
right one by any stretch, but people on the inside
no more than people on the outside. And they are
not in professional sports because they're stupid. They're usually pretty
successful people, they're not dumb, and so yeah, there's usually

(44:35):
a reason for everything.

Speaker 4 (44:37):
Yeah, I think I think we're getting in. Look, he's
at a treatment center right now, yep, and getting the
help that you know he needs. So I wish him
the best. I don't know what a holistic treatment center

(44:57):
is or what it does, and you know, I don't.
I don't know. You know, hopefully it helps him, think,
I don't know, But does that help you think the
holistic treatment center?

Speaker 3 (45:15):
The Super Bowl was here in the Bay Area.

Speaker 2 (45:17):
This man was out and about losing his damn mind
and acting a full on the nightly basis all week long.

Speaker 4 (45:30):
Hmm crazy.

Speaker 3 (45:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (45:33):
Well, wow, hey man, you get what you get. I'll
tell you what you get in trouble. It'll sob your up,
it will help you grow up. So hopefully this, like
I said, this holistic treatment center is going to work
miracles for pooling the cool and his decision making mine
is I want to talk about it a little bit earlier,
but I want to give a shout out to the

(45:57):
u c l A Bruins Women's Division one national champions UH,
led by senior Lauren Betts uh. In this day and
age of constant you know, portals and transferring and and
and all of this. Lauren's been there for three years.

(46:17):
She's started at Stanford, didn't start any games there, played
about nine minutes a game, but for the last three
years has been a stalwarth at U c l A.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
UH.

Speaker 4 (46:28):
She's a tremendous leader and just watching her grow over
these past few years, UH, dealing with heartbreaking losses, not
being able to to get to the championship game or
win the championship game. And they had a senior led team,
and for those ladies to to pull this off against

(46:50):
a juggernaut and Don Staley in South Carolina, I just
wanted to, you know, tip my cap to them, UH
for staying true and and and and sticking to it.
And Hami Hokez, his little sister had a monster game today.
He was in attendance, and shout out to that family.

(47:10):
Because my son was eight, I think I took him
to a UCLA basketball camp and Jamie, you know, really
took a liking to him and signed some autographs for
a nice Yeah, I'm normally I'm at San Diego State
and that's it. But you know, I was pulling for
the Brules.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
Fair enough, fair enough, boy. They were dominant today. There's
a couple of basketball games. I thought this weekend we're
gonna be barn burners, and they weren't. They were. They
just burned the barn like they just that's it. Absolute runaways.
National Championship game for the women today, Arizona Michigan yesterday.

Speaker 3 (47:47):
Crazy all right. Number two for me, And I know.

Speaker 2 (47:51):
This might sound crazy, but I've arrived at this opinion
and I'm keeping it from Kirk Cousins is a Hall
of famer. Huh okay, Kirk Cousins is a Hall of
famer dot dot dot. In terms of NFL business, I

(48:13):
want everybody to know that with this new deal with
the Las Vegas Raiders, here's the list of the top
earning NFL players of all time. Number one Matthew Stafford
Super Bowl Champ number two, Aaron Rogers Super Bowl Champ

(48:40):
number three, Kirk Cousins one playoff win, number four, Tom Brady,
Holy hell, you don't need to be on Sesame Street
to be able to play a game of which one
one of these is not like the other. Absolutely incredible.

(49:05):
He not yo, he not a businessman. He's a business man.
Good lord. Three one hundred forty one million dollars in
his career, he's won at playoff game.

Speaker 4 (49:24):
You like that?

Speaker 3 (49:25):
Yeah, I do? You like that? And he do too. Congratulations,
Kirk Cousins.

Speaker 2 (49:32):
You took the lead to school, You took the league
to school.

Speaker 4 (49:38):
Yeah, it's a woo, it's it's I don't even know
what you could say. Hey man, my hat's off to you.
I said, you know he was getting guaranteed contracts before
anybody was getting guaranteed country.

Speaker 3 (49:52):
Yeah, that's correct. Very so that's what I mean, smart businessman.

Speaker 4 (49:55):
Your worth is what you what someone will pay you.
That's what your worth is. Right for me, it's the Dodgers,
uh this early baseball season and shout out to MLB
as a whole. I say the Dodgers because that's my team.
They're seven and two. I had a miraculous comeback today
against the Washington team is trying to figure things out. Literally,

(50:17):
but shout out to baseball for the changes they've they've made.
What is it? The ABS system has been a flat
out hit. It's unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (50:28):
I'll tell you.

Speaker 2 (50:28):
I saw it live in person for the first time today.
It's really something. Oh my god, It's like the crowd
really just leans forward in their seats.

Speaker 4 (50:38):
It's it's literally. My wife is like, oh, that's the ball.
Tap your head, tap your head. We're right, like, it's
it's it's infectious. I think it brings energy to the game.
I think it holds umpires accountable, and it gives us
a little bit of insight on what players see and

(51:00):
why they flip out sometimes at the plate.

Speaker 3 (51:03):
Yep.

Speaker 4 (51:05):
And it's great for baseball all in all. The pitch
clock and this has been a hit, a huge hit
this early in the baseball season. Has everybody talking about it,
and I love that.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
I'm totally with you and what I here's another thing
that I hadn't been thinking about with ABS that I
now see. It is really interesting in terms of strategy,
Like you really sit there as a fan and think
about because these guys do not have a lot of
time to think about whether they want to challenge.

Speaker 3 (51:36):
It needs to be immediate.

Speaker 2 (51:39):
And the thing is is if you use those in
non high leverage situations for you better be right. You
better be right because it almost it's borderline selfish. If
somebody's up there, like they get a strike called on
them and and it's now it's zero to one leading

(52:02):
off the third inning and you top your helmet and
you're wrong, and everyone's like, now we have one challenge
left because you wanted the count to be one and oh.

Speaker 3 (52:11):
Right, as opposed to what are you doing right?

Speaker 2 (52:13):
I saw it today the Giants catcher tapped his helmet.
I want to say, bro, they're up like two to
one and maybe the seventh inning, two outs, nobody on
first pitch of the at bat, first pitch of the
atbat was a ball, and he tapped his helmet and
then we get to look at the scoreboard and he
was wrong.

Speaker 3 (52:33):
It was a ball, And I'm like, dude, it's the
first pitch of the at bat.

Speaker 2 (52:37):
There's no one on base, like, chill, It's okay, right,
Logan Webs on the hill. He can he can rally
from down one to oh like it, don't don't use
it unless you really need to. So I'm with you, man,
it's super exciting.

Speaker 4 (52:54):
Yeah, it's It's something that I think the fans didn't
know they needed.

Speaker 2 (53:01):
I'm with you. I'm with you. Okay, here's my number three.
And I don't know if this makes things better or
worse for what has you in pain today, which is
injuries to Luca and Austin Reeves. But to me, those
two injuries firmly solidify something that has nothing to do
with either one of them.

Speaker 3 (53:23):
Ain't no way in hell Lebron James is retiring.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
Ain't no way in hell that this is how his
career ends. I just don't buy it. By the way,
as he lays on the ground in the key right now,
we'll see if it's one of those Lebron.

Speaker 3 (53:44):
I know.

Speaker 2 (53:45):
Yeah, yeah, Purts been there. Anyway, point is is now
you have to think the likelihood becomes high that the
Lakers could very well be a first round out because
they are just not a whipped to go after whoever
they're going to go after Denver or Minnesota or whatever

(54:07):
is happening in the West Houston They're going to have
a really, really hard deal to start this off without
two of their best players, and I just don't think
that that man will let his career kind of go
out with a whimper like this. So I don't buy it.

(54:27):
And I think you're gonna see Lebron James play for
the Cavs of the Warriors next year.

Speaker 4 (54:32):
Okay? Is that what you want? You want them up there?
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (54:35):
That depends on other circumstances, so I won't say yes
or no yet, but I'm open to it, all.

Speaker 4 (54:39):
Right, Okay open the team may just signed back or yeah,
I know you don't want that. I like to First
of all, let me just say this, the Lebron James
that we've been seeing for the last two months, I
take him all day.

Speaker 3 (54:52):
Now, You're in okay.

Speaker 4 (54:53):
If he can do that all year. If any team
with Lebron James is your third option, you got a
pretty good team. And they've shown that and they've shown
that down the stretch here. And if Lebron James is
your third option, oh you got action.

Speaker 3 (55:09):
I do not disagree with you.

Speaker 4 (55:12):
For me, my last one is a personal When my
nephew turns twenty two tomorrow. His name is Zaire. He
lives well, he lives in London. He goes to Southampton.
He graduates this year with honors. Young man is truly
a tremendous He's born and raised in Bermuda, went to
school over in London and is a you know, a

(55:35):
tremendous student. Big internship he'll have in London this year.
And I always admire kids. And he travels the world.
He's one of those backpackers. He'll go stay in the
hostel and all of that. He's been all over the place,
solo traveler, all of that. He's got the world ahead
of him. I'm proud of him. And it's his birthday tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (55:57):
Love that happy birthday, except for he probably sleep right now.

Speaker 4 (56:02):
He probably sleep. He's out here visiting.

Speaker 3 (56:05):
God, he's here.

Speaker 4 (56:06):
He came for spring break. Okay, he's out here. And
one of his best friends goes to se so I
think they out here in these streets. But you know,
a young man is doing everything right, you know, and
that's all you can ask for.

Speaker 2 (56:21):
You got that right? Amen? Amen to that happy birthday.
Absolutely love it all right. That's it from Salama Mark Willard.
That's three things and coming up next, I actually believe
with this week's events, and I want to see if
you agree with me. There's only one team that can
stop the thunder from back to back titles. There's only

(56:43):
one team, and I'll let you know who that is
and whether or not you agree. We'll do that coming
up next here on Fox Sports Radio. All right, with
from Salama, Mark whelerd. We are live in the Fox
Sports Radio studios. You know, with the iHeart ap you
could stream us wherever you are. Catch us and all
of the Fox Sports Radio shows live twenty four to

(57:07):
seven in the new and improved iHeart app.

Speaker 3 (57:09):
Just search Fox Sports Radio in the app.

Speaker 2 (57:11):
Stream us live all day, every day, and be sure
to select Fox Sports Radio one of your presets in
the iHeart app so it always pops up right there
at the top of the screen. I get all you
have to do. You just search Fox Sports Radio in
the I Heart app. Laker injuries what constantly feels like

(57:32):
Denver indifference? Houston still feels miscast. Minnesota come on, and
quite frankly, especially with the questions surrounding Cade Cunningham, apologies
to everybody in the East. I don't see it. I

(57:56):
don't see anybody as really having a legit it shot
in a seven game series against Oklahoma City unless they're
called the San Antonio Spurs. Yeah, that's what I believe.

Speaker 4 (58:11):
That's a good belief, and that's accurate. I think I
actually think the San Antonio Spurs are better than Okay, see.

Speaker 2 (58:25):
They if they're not, they're about to be. That's how
I would say it.

Speaker 4 (58:31):
Yeah, my my favorite to win it All this year
is San Antonio. Look at that. It's just and I
said this, you know at the beginning of the season,
if Victor Woman Yamasa stays healthy, he's going to be
the greatest basketball player that ever play. That's a big if. Normally,

(58:55):
you know, bigs at that size, no matter how athletic
they are, they wear down faster than a guard. So
at seven five, you know, at twenty years old, the
way he's playing, he's not even Just imagine him at

(59:15):
twenty four. Remember what Giannis looked like his first couple
of years in the league. Yep, yep, yep. Then he
came back with some pterodactyl shoulders and everybody was like,
what in the hill? Yeah, So just imagine Victor Woman
yama with a man's body and that level of of

(59:38):
skill and his you know, it's it's gonna be bad
for everyone.

Speaker 2 (59:44):
I completely agree with you. And we're talking about on
both ends of the floor. The best player in the
world we're talking about. I mean, this dude dunks by
reaching his arms straight out.

Speaker 4 (59:57):
Yeah, it's bad. And it's not even the offense. The
offense is just crazy, right, the defensive prowess, he makes
it impossible for you to score the ball anywhere in
the paint. Most of us just give up, like it's impossible, right,

(01:00:18):
you can't even you you in there shooting double pump
floaters like it's it's so bad. He has such a
huge impact on both ends of the floor. I don't
see how they're not gonna get this man the MVP.

Speaker 2 (01:00:35):
You know that famous meme where the little kid comes
running into the room and then just turns around and
runs right back out of the room. Yes, And everybody
uses it to kind of do They're like, oh, no,
I didn't like what I saw. That's other people driving
into the key when Victor's there, they running and they're like, yeah,
never mind, I'm not putting up my shot.

Speaker 3 (01:00:56):
Let you do lock it with your elbow.

Speaker 4 (01:00:59):
He's blocking three pointers, he's doing step backs, he's and
he's gonna get all the rebounds. Yep.

Speaker 2 (01:01:05):
And if you defend him, and I know you you
didn't like this or like super early in his career
and and I still don't do a degree, but the
fact that he has this in a repertoire is a killer.
If defensively you just want to sit back and be like, dude,
you're gonna have to shoot jumpers. He can, Okay, he
can and he will, so I don't see any weakness.

(01:01:28):
And then the most underdiscussed thing in the NBA Ephraim
is his supporting cast. Oh my goodness, sooie years no joke,
and the and Dylan Harper can't even start.

Speaker 3 (01:01:43):
Man, holy hell. They are so deep.

Speaker 2 (01:01:47):
They surround that court so well, and he's only going
to get better.

Speaker 3 (01:01:51):
So my take is I'm either with you, like it's
either going to be this year or next year. Period.
Once it hoppens, it's probably.

Speaker 2 (01:02:02):
Gonna be a handful. Yeah, he gonna it's probably gonna
be a handful of them. He's really gonna run away
with this.

Speaker 4 (01:02:08):
Thing, dude.

Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
They are They are so special.

Speaker 2 (01:02:13):
And and Oklahoma City just out here being like the
presumed one seed for months and months. They're right there
like they're gonna get it. But the Spurs are right there.
They're two and a half games back.

Speaker 4 (01:02:26):
Yeah, and and like the only team that is really
took a you know, built to butt to okay, see Spurs, Spurs.
That's the only team. They don't want to see any
parts of the Spurs period.

Speaker 2 (01:02:47):
Just imagine if they also had to Sager, could you
imagine undefeated?

Speaker 7 (01:02:54):
You mentioned, ok they just beat you to one forty
six to.

Speaker 3 (01:02:59):
One eleven due the NBA. This week has been just
this week.

Speaker 7 (01:03:03):
Now, you're right, this week.

Speaker 3 (01:03:04):
I mean, it's just embarrassing. It is just embarrassing.

Speaker 7 (01:03:07):
It's been more blowouts this year than ever. OKCS record
sixty two and sixteen. They beat a Utah team that's
lost nine in a row. The thunder from three point
range twenty four for forty five. The game at Dallas
has just ended the third quarter already one oh seven
for the Mavericks. We have not touched the fourth quarter yet.
Tonight Mavericks leading the Lakers one oh seven, ninety seven.

(01:03:30):
I'm sure the Lakers feel like they're in this game.
The Lakers are shooting fifty four percent, and they're down
double digits. MAVs at fifty six percent, including from three
point range thirteen for twenty five. Cooper flag thirty six points,
over half of that in the first quarter of play.
Right now, late first quarter, the Clippers are leading at

(01:03:50):
Sacramento thirty nine to twenty six, and there's a game
that's with under thirty seconds to go at New Orleans,
where Orlando is leading the Pelicans one ten to one
oh FO. Charlotte got thirty five points from LaMelo Ball
and won at Minnesota one twenty two to one oh eight.
Minnesota star Anthony Edwards out again with the knee injuries
missed eight of their last ten games. Cleveland got thirty

(01:04:11):
eight points from Donovan Mitchell and beat Indiana, won seventeen
to one toh eight. Victories for Brooklyn and Milwaukee at
home Boston as well. Phoenix sent Chicago to a seventh
straight loss, one twenty to one ten Devin Booker with
thirty points. The women's basketball Championship game went to UCLA
in dominant fashion over South Carolina, which had just upset

(01:04:32):
Number one Yukon in the SEMIS. Yukon had been undefeated.
It had won fifty four straight and earlier in the tournament. Connecticut,
in this tournament, led Syracuse seventy to fourteen in a
game in the third quarter, but Yukon was eliminated Friday,
and then South Carolina. It just got wax today. They
shot twenty nine percent from the floor. The Bruins dominated,

(01:04:55):
and it's UCLA's first women's basketball title since nineteen seventy eight.
By the way, you'll hear somebody say, you know, they've
never won the NCAA title before. The NCAA did not
sponsor women's basketball until a year after Isaiah Thomas won
his college title in the eighties. So yeah, there were

(01:05:16):
women's basketball national champions championships happening for years. It just
wasn't a quote NCAA title until right about the Cheryl
Miller era of the eighties. The men's final is Monday night,
Michigan against Connecticut. Yukon guards Solo Ball has a sprained foot.
Michigan All American Yackxell Lindeborg will play through ankle and
knee injuries. Michigan dominated Arizona Saturday night. In fact, last

(01:05:40):
Sunday at Blitz Tennessee, including a twenty one zero run
in the first half. Michigan is the first team to
score at least ninety points five times in the same
NCAA tournament, and during the year, Michigan's won eleven different
games by at least thirty points. As for Alabama, they've
given head coach Nate Oates a new contract through twenty

(01:06:00):
thirty two. JJ spawn won the Texas opened by one stroke.
NHL Philadelphia in overtime win against Boston two to one.
NASCAR's Cup Series off this Easter weekend back on FS
one from Bristol next weekend to Major League Baseball, the
A's got a homer in the tenth to win twelve
ten over Houston Angels in eleven innings, edge theatle eight seven.

(01:06:21):
Miami scored four runs top of the eighth and beat
the Yankees seven to six. In New York, there was
a long rain delay at the start of that one.
Same for the game in DC. Dodgers eventually beat Washington
eight to six, and guys, we have the NIT Championship.
In men's hoops, dined Auburn is holding on fifty seven
forty nine over Tulsa with thirteen minutes to go. The

(01:06:42):
Division three men's title went to a team Mary Washington
that had blown a thirteen point lead in the last
five minutes but still won on a putback at the
buzzer against Emery and the Buffalo Sabers. This weekend clinched
a NHL playoff berth That n a fourteen year postseason drought,
which means and that was the longest in NHL history.

(01:07:05):
It means an NFL team has the longest current playoff drought,
going the New York Jets at fifteen years without the postseason.
Apparently the NFL record going twenty five straight years without
making the playoffs, but you'd have to go back to
the old days. The Cardinals through nineteen seventy four went

(01:07:26):
twenty five years without postseason, longest slump in baseball history,
almost thirty straight years. The Expos and then Washington Nationals
through twenty eleven didn't make the playoffs. The NBA's longest streak,
Sacramento through twenty twenty two went sixteen years without postseason,
but the New York Jets last made the playoffs in
twenty ten when Rex Ryan was head coach.

Speaker 3 (01:07:49):
Back to you, how did San Diego State do in
the nit.

Speaker 4 (01:07:54):
No, we didn't. We didn't want to do that. Oh
that's right, I forgot. You know, we really spot didn't.

Speaker 3 (01:08:00):
Feel like playing back.

Speaker 4 (01:08:00):
We didn't earn anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:08:02):
I forgot about that.

Speaker 4 (01:08:03):
We didn't earn it. Well, I mean you did? No, no, no,
we didn't. Yeah. Well we don't start the season to
play for the n I t yeah, I know, I know,
but you don't get any postseason A did earn.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
But you did did? Right? You earned?

Speaker 4 (01:08:18):
Then I earned something that we didn't want that you
didn't want, right right, I mean, so there is.

Speaker 2 (01:08:24):
No we earned things that we don't want in life
all the time. Diego, you ever gotten a speeding ticket?

Speaker 4 (01:08:31):
I don't know what you're talking about.

Speaker 3 (01:08:33):
You ever get one before?

Speaker 4 (01:08:35):
Of course?

Speaker 2 (01:08:36):
Man, okay, you earned it. I didn't want it. I'm
gonna try that. I'm gonna try that San Diego State thing.
Next time I get pulled over by a police officer
and they can say, sir, you were speeding. I'm gonna
need your license and registration, and I'm gonna say no,
thank you, no, no thank you. I I don't It.

Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
Was not my It was not my goal to get
pulled over by you today.

Speaker 7 (01:09:00):
If I did that, and then you say I'm on
the phone with the president, right.

Speaker 4 (01:09:05):
You do imagine if I was all, no, I'm not
taking I'm not doing that.

Speaker 2 (01:09:12):
No, No, I would not suggest that for anyone. No,
but yeah, especially no brothers, especially especially Cooper.

Speaker 3 (01:09:21):
Flag has thirty.

Speaker 2 (01:09:22):
Nine killing with ten minutes to go, ten minutes to
go in the game, he's got thirty nine throwing, seven rebounds,
and eight assists as well.

Speaker 3 (01:09:34):
Two steals on a block.

Speaker 4 (01:09:38):
Yeah he something else, man?

Speaker 7 (01:09:40):
That was a Can I just say out loud that
Duke had the National Player of the Year back to back. Heres,
it's just the first guy didn't stay and they were
ranked number one this year without him.

Speaker 4 (01:09:50):
How about yeah, how about Remember we had this conversation,
We talked about it, Yes, we did. The reason Duke
is going to struggle year after year. They can recruit,
but these guys are out so they fall short, which
most of them do because they're eighteen years old.

Speaker 7 (01:10:14):
Conversely, the UCLA team that won the women's title today,
every single point scored today was by a senior.

Speaker 4 (01:10:21):
And there you have it.

Speaker 7 (01:10:22):
That's why it looks like it looks and they should
have been eliminated. Friday A lesser team with twenty three
turnovers in the ugliest ball game of the year would
have lost Friday and never made it.

Speaker 4 (01:10:33):
That's true. That's true, And so Duke is going to
continue to get the Player of the Year and they're
going to struggle when they get deeper in the tournament
because it's hard to ask an eighteen year old kid
to get We saw it was Zion right, was Zion RJ.
Barrett Cam Reddish. They were all freshmen, all highly touted,

(01:10:59):
didn't pay all off. And until you can get these guys, Now,
imagine if Cooper Flags stay they do, they're beating They
would be beating teams like Michigan beating teams. That's a
real thing.

Speaker 3 (01:11:12):
Yep.

Speaker 4 (01:11:13):
It literally.

Speaker 7 (01:11:14):
They already had a string of ten twelve super impressive
results as it was this year.

Speaker 4 (01:11:19):
So I say that to say, if Cam Boozer decided
I'm going I'm going to stay in school with my
brother and whoever the five star blue chip guy coming
in this year, we're going to play together and we're
gonna win a national championship. That would make sense to me.

(01:11:43):
They're already making seven eight nine million dollars.

Speaker 7 (01:11:45):
That's the part of the equation that exists now that
didn't before.

Speaker 4 (01:11:48):
Yeah, So I'm like, what's your rush?

Speaker 3 (01:11:52):
I read it? Well, we tell them seeing somebody do this.

Speaker 4 (01:11:55):
I get you, right, but this is what I this
is what I'll tell you.

Speaker 3 (01:11:58):
But I hear you.

Speaker 4 (01:12:01):
Do you know why? The reason we're talking about Cooper
Flag because he's playing the Lakers. Yeah and fifty a
game ago.

Speaker 3 (01:12:08):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:12:09):
Other than that, outside of the first two weeks, how
much of the NBA season have we used on Cooper Flag?

Speaker 3 (01:12:16):
No, like his team stinks.

Speaker 4 (01:12:19):
So what happens is you can be that type of
player and then disappear for your whole rookie season. Well, okay,
I'm depending on where you go.

Speaker 2 (01:12:30):
Here's where I'm going to push back, my friend. The
college basketball, the entire season disappears.

Speaker 4 (01:12:35):
Yeah. But what I'm saying we're.

Speaker 2 (01:12:36):
Talking about this now and cam Boozer because it's March April.

Speaker 4 (01:12:40):
Yeah, but what I'm saying is when you're in that
college environment, it's different than the NBA. Yes, it's fun.
First of all, you're there with the guys you chose
to be there.

Speaker 3 (01:12:49):
No question.

Speaker 4 (01:12:49):
So when you go to an NBA team, you're walking
into grown men, professionals, they have lives and all that.
When you're in a college atmosphere and you you guys
are bonding and most of the guys you played aau
with are played against in high school. Now you're getting
a chance to play together and build that and bond.

(01:13:10):
There's nothing like that. The NBA is not like that.

Speaker 3 (01:13:14):
I totally.

Speaker 4 (01:13:15):
And so once you sacrifice that right and yeah, you
you live in the world of obscurity unless you're there,
Unless on campus and all, it's a whole nother environment.
And so because you're making the money you're making, if
you really want to win a national championship, you should

(01:13:36):
go win a national championship. But you're not going to
be able to do it as freshmen all leaving, coming
and leaving. It's not gonna work.

Speaker 2 (01:13:47):
And that Duke and other teams like them need to
start factoring this into their analytics.

Speaker 4 (01:13:53):
Then it's who imagine if Cooper Flag was there, are
cockingip on Cooper Flag decided toy.

Speaker 2 (01:14:01):
Then it'd be beating to people by fifty. They would
have a game tomorrow night.

Speaker 4 (01:14:05):
But that's the point, and I said it last week.
Cam Boozer has more of a chance to win a
national championship in college than he does an NBA championship.

Speaker 3 (01:14:18):
For sure.

Speaker 4 (01:14:19):
For sure, Well, flag, I would have had a better
chance to win a national championship this year if he
would have stayed.

Speaker 3 (01:14:28):
Then he will his whole career in the NBA.

Speaker 2 (01:14:31):
Unless the NBA gets their hands on them lottery balls again, right,
number one pick might be Steph Curry's teammate next year.

Speaker 4 (01:14:40):
Right, Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 2 (01:14:42):
Not that that's going to beat Victor women Yama, but anyway,
that's see from my mark. We're live here in the
Fox Sports Radio studios, and in fact, I would love
I'm not quite done with all of that yet, but
I would love to talk to you about it through
the eyes of the NBA and what the entire calendar
year plus two months has been like for the Dallas

(01:15:05):
Mavericks and everything that took place that arrives to this moment.
We'll do that next on Fox Sports Radio. All right,
we live in the Fox Sports Radio studios. While we're
on the NBA front. MAVs lead the Lakers by nine
just under seven minutes to go. Steph Curry's return to

(01:15:27):
the court after a twenty seven game absence is probably
about Eh twenty twenty five minutes away.

Speaker 4 (01:15:39):
Can I ask you a question fire away? Do you
got you? Do you think you guys can make the playoffs?

Speaker 3 (01:15:46):
Can they make the play I mean probably not? Could they?
Sure they could? They could?

Speaker 2 (01:15:53):
I mean the team that they stand to potentially put
out on the court in a week and a half
is a much better team than what they've been playing with.
They can go out there with Steph Curry and Chris
tops Porzingis who have never played together, and he's starting
to stack games, and Al Horford will return and it's

(01:16:16):
it's not a devastating crew. It's an old crew, but
it's a it's also a veteran crew that knows what
they're doing.

Speaker 4 (01:16:23):
So you guys, if you guys did do that, you
guys draw the Spurs card?

Speaker 2 (01:16:28):
Well, no, they would probably we'll probably draw, okay, see,
because they're going to either be the.

Speaker 4 (01:16:33):
Nine, yeah there.

Speaker 2 (01:16:35):
Yeah, they're gonna have to win is very highly highly
likely that the ten. So you got to win two
road games in an elimination scenario that in and of
itself I find to be very op Yes, but yes,
if they were to win two games, they would be
the eight seed and they would go get drubbed by OKC. Yep,

(01:16:56):
that's how I see it. But playing games will be
a lot more fun with Steph Curry than without him. Absolutely,
I mean they'd get they'd get absolutely run off the
court with what they're throwing out there.

Speaker 3 (01:17:08):
Now.

Speaker 4 (01:17:10):
Yeah, but you guys have the lacrosse guy boy and
the that I tell you and car Yeah you ever get.

Speaker 2 (01:17:26):
You ever watch people get all excited about something that
then just fizzles, Like I'm gonna date us a little bit.
But you know what Pat Spencer is. And I don't
mean this as any This is not disrespect because like
that man has worked his butt off to get to
where he is. But if you're old enough to remember

(01:17:49):
the movie the first one vacation with Chevy Chase Wally
World Man, everybody was all excited. Then everything was pointing
toward Wally World and they got to Wally World and
what happened? He closed? It is closed. Pat Spencer had

(01:18:11):
like a week and a half. Dude, he had a
game winner in Cleveland and he's yelling at the Cabs bench.

Speaker 3 (01:18:18):
I am that mother jumper.

Speaker 2 (01:18:22):
And people are like, I mean, Pat Spencer's doing appearances
on media and they're like, oh my god, this guy
and his brother plays for Memphis and he's a lacrosse
player and he's just this little white dude and he's
out there and then well, I don't think I don't
think he's hit a shot.

Speaker 3 (01:18:37):
In about three weeks. Wally World's closed.

Speaker 2 (01:18:43):
Sorry, sorry about that, but anyway, I was just thinking
about like the calendar year plus of Dallas Mavericks basketball
then the Luca trade, feel like I had about four
years ago.

Speaker 4 (01:18:59):
Yeah, someone that crazy?

Speaker 2 (01:19:03):
Which side of the fence are you on with regard
like do you think everything with regard to Cooper Flag
being a Maverick is completely on the up and up?

Speaker 4 (01:19:15):
I mean you no funny business? Now, come on, man,
what you give away a generational talent and you get
the first pick in the draft with.

Speaker 3 (01:19:25):
A one percent chance of So let me give you
a little insight.

Speaker 4 (01:19:29):
Why I say that? Remember years ago, twenty something years ago,
when the Lakers were about to get a whole lot better,
when they were about to get Chris Paul and his
Paul and play with Kobe Bryant. Sure remember that?

Speaker 3 (01:19:44):
Sure?

Speaker 4 (01:19:45):
Remember David Stern came in and killed that.

Speaker 3 (01:19:49):
Yep?

Speaker 4 (01:19:51):
Do you remember who? Now you got to remember the
the Pelicans wanted that they were getting better.

Speaker 3 (01:19:59):
Yes, they were gonna lam old. I'm yes, yes, yes,
yes yes.

Speaker 4 (01:20:03):
Do you remember who got the first pick in the
draft that year?

Speaker 3 (01:20:09):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (01:20:10):
The Pelicans and they got Anthony Davis.

Speaker 3 (01:20:13):
Look at that.

Speaker 4 (01:20:16):
Yeah, I'll leave that there.

Speaker 3 (01:20:21):
Okay, So who's gonna get it this year? Then?

Speaker 2 (01:20:25):
Like real quick, coming up next, let's take a look
at some possible conspiracy theories coming up.

Speaker 1 (01:20:33):
Sports.

Speaker 3 (01:20:35):
I Mean, we kind of stumbled into this one, but
it's fun.

Speaker 2 (01:20:38):
I think there are certain things in life it's just
kind of like, no matter what you do, Like, no
matter what they do. Uh, fans are never gonna love referees, Uh,
no matter what they do.

Speaker 7 (01:20:49):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:20:50):
People never gonna trust politicians, doesn't even matter which side
of aisle they're on.

Speaker 3 (01:20:55):
And no matter what the NBA does, nobody is ever
gonna trust the lottery. They're just not.

Speaker 2 (01:21:04):
Even though I find it a little bit far fetched
in today's day and age that somebody, a multi billion
dollar sports league could pull something like that off.

Speaker 3 (01:21:15):
Without any oversight whatsoever.

Speaker 2 (01:21:18):
But there's too many times, like you just detailed, where
it sort of feels like, hey, where did that come from?

Speaker 3 (01:21:25):
That's just a.

Speaker 2 (01:21:26):
Little too convenient. Yeah, you know, you know I'm with you.
So let's play the game. Let's play the game, all right.
Look at the teams that stand to be in the
lottery right now, and tell me if the NBA wanted
Dabanza or Camboozer or whatever it wanted him with a

(01:21:52):
certain team, who would it be. I mean, are they
Milwaukee Buck's about to lose Jannis? Yes, okay, there's candidate one.

Speaker 3 (01:22:11):
Would the NBA want.

Speaker 2 (01:22:14):
The nation's capital to have something exciting to go along
with their new newly built Anthony Davis Trey Young situation? Yes, okay,
would the NBA like Chicago to stop sucking?

Speaker 3 (01:22:37):
Those are lottery teams.

Speaker 2 (01:22:38):
Don't forget the teams that will fall out of the
play in are also lottery teams.

Speaker 4 (01:22:45):
So yeah, I can see if Golden State loses that
playing against Golden State, Golden State getting the first pick
in the draft. I mean I can see that. That
to me tracks that.

Speaker 2 (01:23:00):
Team has set just about everything in its entire library contractually,
has set that up to come off of the books
after next year. Yes, Steph's contract, Draymond's contract, Jimmy Butler's contract,

(01:23:23):
The word is they're going to try to get Kristaps
to come back on a one year deal. Everything tracks
toward total flexibility after that. But also absolutely no young
star that has everybody excited.

Speaker 4 (01:23:44):
Yeah, you partner him with aj Debonzu.

Speaker 2 (01:23:50):
And half of a year of Jimmy Butler and Chris STAPs.

Speaker 4 (01:23:56):
Ye got yelling at him. That'd be fun, but now
you know, now you breathe life back in the stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:24:10):
Okay, who else? I think the Bulls won the Bulls.

Speaker 4 (01:24:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:24:18):
Here's the other thing about this draft, and I'm no
draft nick, but.

Speaker 4 (01:24:23):
It's about six kids who can go.

Speaker 3 (01:24:26):
I think it might be more. I think it honestly
might be.

Speaker 2 (01:24:30):
Yeah, this is I'll tell you what Mark Speers, hall
of Fame writer for ESPN, longtime NBA boys, he told me.

Speaker 3 (01:24:38):
A couple of weeks ago. He goes, I think this
is fifteen.

Speaker 2 (01:24:41):
Deep, and whether that's true or not, and some people
are going to mess the picks up and all of
that stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:24:49):
What this year isn't is like.

Speaker 2 (01:24:51):
A shock or a Lebron or a Cooper flag year,
even where you're like, that's the dude, there's I mean,
there's a debate. There's a debate at the top or
do you think it's definitely Debonsa.

Speaker 4 (01:25:09):
It depends on who gets the first pick. I think
that's important because they're like Peterson from Kansas. If you
don't have you know, generational guard play or great guard play,

(01:25:29):
you take him. But if you do, if you do,
then Carlos Boozer, I mean Cam Boozer looks good or
Aj Debonta looks good right watching what Cooper Flag is doing.
The person that most resembles him in college right now
is Aj Debonta. So you would want even though Cooper

(01:25:54):
is playing out of position this year at point guard,
you want that lengthen at a ability to get a
bucket on the wing who can play you know, one
through four. So I think that's attractive to a lot
of teams for sure. I think if if Golden State
gets that pick, then absolutely they're taking him.

Speaker 3 (01:26:14):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:26:14):
But even by virtue of the way you answered that,
I think firms up what I'm saying, Like, if it
depends on the team, then that means there is not
a clear cut I can't pass on that guy guy.

Speaker 4 (01:26:26):
Right, because there might be five of those guys in
this draft based on your needs.

Speaker 2 (01:26:31):
So maybe that's a year for the NBA to not
pull shenanigans and tuck some of these teams that they
want in it, like you know, three or four.

Speaker 3 (01:26:42):
And by the way, you know, well the Chicago Bulls have.

Speaker 2 (01:26:47):
Boy, they ended up winning twenty nine games, didn't they
They got one, two, three, four or five six? They
got a lot of teams ahead of them. Yeah, they
So they're gonna need a bounce Washington doesn't. They've got
the absolute Washington Kings Pacers.

Speaker 3 (01:27:04):
Right, yeah, do they want to I mean market size.

Speaker 4 (01:27:09):
I don't think they want in the Pacers, just given
how no one cared last year that was that was ugly.
So I think they're I don't believe they will. I
don't think we'll know if we're going to something if
they don't get the first.

Speaker 3 (01:27:28):
How about if Dallas gets it again?

Speaker 4 (01:27:30):
That makes sense. I can see that.

Speaker 3 (01:27:31):
Let's give Cooper Flag a running.

Speaker 4 (01:27:33):
Mate, all right, I can see that.

Speaker 3 (01:27:41):
Well, that's sure gonna be interesting.

Speaker 2 (01:27:44):
It is and interesting. You know, hey, we didn't even
talk about this Buck situation. What in the hell?

Speaker 3 (01:27:52):
Man? What's your take?

Speaker 4 (01:27:56):
When it goes bad?

Speaker 10 (01:27:57):
It goes bad, but not this, like, come, what are
we doing? I like, in a way.

Speaker 2 (01:28:09):
This is one of those weird situations where I kind
of come out annoyed at everybody, which is weird because
we're talking Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Speaker 3 (01:28:18):
I'm sure you've been to Milwaukee.

Speaker 2 (01:28:21):
I find that area of the country to have some
of the most fun, welcoming human beings.

Speaker 4 (01:28:27):
I've ever met in my life.

Speaker 2 (01:28:29):
That city, that area, whether it's go to a Green
Bay Packer game, go to Madison University of Wisconsin, everything
about that area of the country, it just like, I
don't know, I've had really really good experience. So I
don't root against the city of Milwaukee, and Yannis through
the years has been a very root for him. A

(01:28:54):
bull star, Yes, can I get away with that? That
butchering of the English language wonderful. So that's kind of
how it's been, and now suddenly not anymore. Now I'm
looking at both of these sides, and I'm thinking to myself, Okay, Bucks,
of all the things in today's day and age of
the NBA to not get into a fight with your

(01:29:16):
star about it's whether or not just he'll go play.

Speaker 3 (01:29:21):
So that's a terrible look.

Speaker 2 (01:29:23):
Meantime, though, Yannis to me, has become the most.

Speaker 3 (01:29:28):
Passive, aggressive star in all of sports.

Speaker 2 (01:29:32):
Stop asking for a trade, followed by not getting traded
and going public and saying I've never I've never asked
for a trade.

Speaker 3 (01:29:40):
I don't want a trade.

Speaker 2 (01:29:42):
What was a tweety sent out after the trade deadline
legends don't chase, they attract or something like that. It's like,
none of this stuff has ever gotten off of home plate.
If you didn't go tell the Bucks that you wanted
to play somewhere else, I'll never buy that.

Speaker 3 (01:30:01):
And then every time he doesn't go somewhere, he's like, yeah,
I don't want.

Speaker 4 (01:30:04):
To go anywhere.

Speaker 2 (01:30:06):
He just does not ever want to be looked at
as the bad guy. And when you do that once
too many times, you manifest exactly that.

Speaker 4 (01:30:17):
This is what happens when you hold on to a
player too long, like no one's coming to play with
him in Milwaukee. So Janni's should have known this, and
the Bucks should have known this, And now we're in

(01:30:39):
a situation where.

Speaker 3 (01:30:42):
They may be it.

Speaker 4 (01:30:44):
I'm sure they will make a move, and preferably before
the draft. The eve of the draft should be a
huge blockbuster deal should be Yeah, Jannis is going to
play in Washington, ad And and you know Trey Young

(01:31:08):
and you know, because then they're giving up the first
pick in the draft something like that.

Speaker 2 (01:31:12):
You may you may be right, but I will argue,
whatever they get, it's less than what they could have
gotten in February.

Speaker 3 (01:31:19):
They already missed their their ape.

Speaker 4 (01:31:21):
Yeah, I think I think you're right there. I think
that was a premium. And I believe the reason that
thing starred like it did was because Giannis was coming
off the capture and he was not playing. Maybe if
he was out there's going thirty six points a game,
thirty two points a game, that's a different conversation because

(01:31:42):
the team is going to mortgage everything for him to
come in.

Speaker 2 (01:31:45):
Now, I hear you, but I think there were teams
willing to do that anyway. I certainly got the impression
that he didn't get traded because Milwaukee just said no,
like they just never got serious.

Speaker 3 (01:31:56):
I know, the Warriors offered him four first rounders.

Speaker 4 (01:31:59):
I know this, Yeah, that's crazy, and.

Speaker 2 (01:32:01):
They said they like they never even got going with
that conversation.

Speaker 4 (01:32:06):
Interesting, if the Warriors got Andrea, Well, but if you're
the Warriors, now, I'm like, well, hold on.

Speaker 2 (01:32:13):
A second, price goes down now? Now, first of all,
you didn't get them for this year. Second of all,
now you're fighting with each other publicly, which always brings
someone's value down. And third, that first rounder that was
offered in February was just like a random first rounder,
and now it could be something that's actually like we

(01:32:36):
got business. So I'm not saying the Warriors wouldn't do that.
I'm just saying you might only get two first rounders.

Speaker 4 (01:32:44):
Now I'm making that happen to put Giannis with with Steph.

Speaker 3 (01:32:48):
They've been they've been trying for a year.

Speaker 4 (01:32:50):
Oh many do they do it in a heartbeat? I'm
doing that right right.

Speaker 3 (01:32:56):
I just think, look to me, when you're about to
trade a star.

Speaker 4 (01:33:00):
The third pick in the draft, I mean sure, sure,
that's the only way Milwaukee is going to Yeah, well
we'll see where there was. So it could be a
situation where they have the second and fourth pick in
the draft. Sure could, right if they if Jaet the
fourth pick and a Trey Giannis for the first or
the second like that. Now, that's how you chan, That's

(01:33:22):
how you flip. That's how you flip your franchise.

Speaker 3 (01:33:24):
That's how you start over.

Speaker 4 (01:33:26):
That's how you flip your franchise now that that that's
something that we should you know, I can't wait for
the draft the lottery to see who has what because
that now we're talking.

Speaker 3 (01:33:39):
Now we're talking.

Speaker 2 (01:33:41):
I'm just a firm believer of when you're going to
trade a star, you have to do it before everybody
starts getting publicly mad at each other. That's when everything
starts going downhill, and your all first go downhill. So
I do think Milwaukee messed up there, But there are
mathematical scenarios to what you talking about for sure that

(01:34:02):
could come into play. All Right, we're broadcasting live from
the Fox Sports Radio studios. Two things coming up next.
We haven't gotten to this yet, and we definitely want
to very very odd offseason for Philadelphia, the Eagles, and
some things reportedly coming out about Jalen Hurts this week
that we definitely want to discuss. Plus, the Warrior game

(01:34:24):
is underway. Steph Curry is not starting, but is slated
to play, so we're keeping an eye on his first
game in the last twenty seven for the Warriors as
they get started against the Houston Rockets in San Francisco.
All right, that's from salam Mark Willard. It's Fox Sports Radio. Hey,
real quick, before we get to Jalen Hurts live in

(01:34:47):
these Fox Sports Radio studios. This is not just the
return of Steph Curry in this Warrior game tonight after
a twenty six game absence.

Speaker 3 (01:34:57):
Do you know what other un.

Speaker 2 (01:35:00):
Factoid is is likely about to happen for the first
time ever in this game.

Speaker 4 (01:35:07):
Tonight two brothers playing on the same team.

Speaker 2 (01:35:09):
Look at Lecky. Lookye, Seth was questionable, but he is in.
He is in right now. He got into this game before.

Speaker 4 (01:35:15):
His brother did my brother I play?

Speaker 2 (01:35:19):
So the two of them have been very, very excited
to do this and it looks like tonight's the night
knocked out three yep, but yeah, Warriors up by five,
very very early. Seth in the game. Steph not yet
but dressed, ready to go. If you missed any of
today's show, catch it on the podcast. You search Fox
Sports Radio wherever you get your podcast. Right after the show,

(01:35:40):
today's pod gets posted. Be sure to follow the pod
rated a five, provide a review. You search Fox Sports
Radio wherever you get your podcast. Follow the feed. You'll
find today's full show posted right after we get off
of the air. Okay, while we're on fun factoid time.
I have a list for you. I want to see
if you can tell me what they have in common.

(01:36:02):
Here's the list. Cam Ward Geno, Smith, Tua Tongue, Bailloa,
Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, Bryce Young, and Tyler Shuck.

Speaker 3 (01:36:17):
That's the list.

Speaker 4 (01:36:21):
Oof, that's all over the place.

Speaker 3 (01:36:26):
Good lord, feel like a very good group to you.

Speaker 4 (01:36:30):
I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:36:33):
Again, Kim Ward, Geno, Smith, Tua, Flacco, Brissett, Aaron Rodgers,
Bryce Young.

Speaker 3 (01:36:40):
Tyler Shuck.

Speaker 4 (01:36:41):
No, that's a that's a I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:36:46):
That is the group of quarterbacks in the entire NFL.

Speaker 3 (01:36:52):
They had a worse QBR this year than Jalen Hurts.
That's it. Wow, that's the list. Everybody else in the
league was above him.

Speaker 2 (01:37:05):
You don't have to believe QBR is just one thing,
and that's different than QB rating.

Speaker 3 (01:37:11):
By the way.

Speaker 2 (01:37:11):
QBR is the ESPN production that is analytically driven that
basically tries to cover all aspects of quarterbacking and tell
you who's playing well. It's kind of a little bit
like OPS is now in baseball.

Speaker 3 (01:37:28):
So that's the list.

Speaker 2 (01:37:29):
And I say that to highlight a recent ESPN article
that details the reported internal frustrations the organization has with
Jalen Hurts, sources in the building saying that he's had
a big hand in the offense becoming calcified.

Speaker 3 (01:37:49):
Frustrations have grown.

Speaker 2 (01:37:50):
Apparently he's pushed back on changes that would diversify the scheme.
Apparently he is accused of diverting the game plan and
changes play calls to what some feel is an excessive degree.

Speaker 4 (01:38:05):
Oh snap, what do you think of Jalen Hurts. I
think he's a Super Bowl MVP.

Speaker 3 (01:38:15):
Okay, that's a fair answer.

Speaker 2 (01:38:18):
I saw someone else kind of you know how banged
up the forty nine ers, especially on defense, just a
skeleton crew.

Speaker 3 (01:38:29):
By the end of the year.

Speaker 2 (01:38:31):
And we watched, for example, even though they lost that
football game, we watched Caleb Williams towards that defense. We
watched Sam Darnold towards that defense. We watched Philip Rivers
score some points on that defense. But boy, they bottled
up Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia in a playoff game.

Speaker 4 (01:38:59):
Yeah. Look, I'm I've never been all in on Philly
except for Sakon Barkley, and this year they went away
from that. Yep, Jalen Hurts has never been a prolific
passer of the football by any stretch of the imagination.

(01:39:19):
Can he makes some throws? Yeah, But also in the
same breath, he's also had four offensive coordinators, So true,
that's difficult to do. To always have to come up
with a new system and the new terminology. You're always

(01:39:42):
starting back at the ground floor. How many offensive coordinators
did Tom Brady have in his nineteen years? And tamp
I mean in.

Speaker 3 (01:39:58):
Yeah, yeah, pretty much right.

Speaker 4 (01:40:01):
How many offensive coordinators are play callers as Patrick Mahomes
had mm hmm, rock party, right. So it's hard to
always reset and then someone comes in with an idea

(01:40:22):
of who you are and what you can do. So
I think after he won the Super Bowl and the
Super Bowl MVP, he was like, I'm pushing back. I
don't want to do that. I don't want to do that.
I don't like that. And so if the trust and
the and the respect isn't there, then you'll have this

(01:40:42):
these uh you know, these stories coming out. I can
see that. I could see a player who's gone to
the Super Bowl twice outplayed the quarterback both times in
the Super Bowl one super Bowl MVP pushing back on

(01:41:04):
excessive changing. I could see that. I can't be mad
at him about that. That's the whole thing. Like, I'm
not like, oh this is no I get it now.
I say all of that to say, Jalen Hurts is
not a prolific thrower of the football, right, so unless
the offensive coordinators coming in to make his life easier, Yeah,

(01:41:28):
I'll push back too.

Speaker 2 (01:41:31):
Okay, that's fair. This could be a hell of a year. Man,
It's gonna be a hell of a year because and
first of all, if anybody's wondering about the Jalen Hurts contract,
the potential out does not come for two more seasons.

Speaker 3 (01:41:46):
Obviously you're still allowed out of it.

Speaker 2 (01:41:48):
But that would be Cousins or Russell Wilson esque in
terms of the financial sort of negative windfall that the
Eagles would experience. And I'm not say adjustment that the
Eagles are even thinking about moving off of them, nor
do they have another option anyway.

Speaker 3 (01:42:05):
But there is a route, there's a path.

Speaker 2 (01:42:09):
I'm not saying that this is the case right now,
but there's a path to him being the fourth rated
quarterback in the division at the end of this year.

Speaker 4 (01:42:20):
Yeah, there's a path. Yes, it's a path.

Speaker 3 (01:42:23):
Right, so you know there's that it's very similar.

Speaker 2 (01:42:29):
And by the way, Steph Curry entering the game for
the Warriors mid first quarter, they're up by three, so
we'll keep you up to date on.

Speaker 4 (01:42:38):
How he looks.

Speaker 2 (01:42:40):
And there is a path that we create each hour
from us to Steve de Sager.

Speaker 7 (01:42:47):
Good evening once again, is all right? Thanks and Steph
Curry after that assist as the Warriors of twenty two
to seventeen on Houston in a late NBA game tonight.
That is a Houston team that has won five in
a row. Notable that Curry's on the court, even if
it's off the bench because he'd missed the previous twenty
seven games with the bad knee. Clippers up eighty eight
sixty six at Sacramento mid third quarter and the Lakers

(01:43:08):
wound up coming back to make it interesting but losing
at Dallas one thirty four one twenty eight Lebron James
thirty points, fifteen assists. Laker reporter Mike Trudell pointing out
that LA holds the three seed in the West via
tiebreaker over Denver. At LA's edge over Houston a game
and a half right now plus tiebreaker and also La

(01:43:29):
secured a better record than Minnesota with the Minnesota loss
at home to Charlotte tonight one twenty two to one
to oh eight. Mansota's Anthony Edwards was out with a
knee injuries, missed eight to last ten games. LaMelo Ball
thirty five points for the Hornets. And then there's Oklahoma
City sixty two and sixteen for the defending champs. They
beat up Utah one forty six to one eleven. Utah

(01:43:51):
has lost nine in a row. Cleveland got thirty eight
points from Donovan Mitchell and beat Indiana. It was Boston
over Toronto. The women's basketball championship game was a no
doubter or for UCLA, whipping South Carolina seventy nine fifty one,
the South Carolina team that had just upset undefeated and
number one ranked Yukon in the semis. Auburn has just

(01:44:12):
won the men's nit tournament in overtime against Tulsa ninety
two to eighty six. Men's NCAA final is Monday night,
Connecticut against Michigan and Yukon. Guard's Solo Ball has a
sprain foot. We'll see if he plays. By the way,
West Virginia won the Crown Basketball Tournament in overtime in
Vegas today against Oklahoma eighty nine eighty two on Fox
TV Honor Huff with thirty eight points. Alabama gave coach

(01:44:36):
Naate Oates a new contract through twenty thirty two. Duke's
Cameron Boozer says he has a couple of facial fractures
from last week's loss. In the NHL, the Islanders fired
coach Patrick Waw. Peter de Boor replaced him. Rangers won
eight to one against Washington, New Jersey, a three to
nothing winner at Montreal. Jessica Bagoula took the tennis final
in Charleston, a clay court event or a minder. NASCAR's

(01:44:58):
Cup series was off this Easter weekend, but next weekend
nascarz on FS one again from Bristol, Tennessee. In the
night ballgame at Detroit, Saint Louis beat the Tigers five
to three. Atlanta in ten innings one at Arizona six'
Five miami with four runs top of the, eighth beat
The yankees seven to six In New. York The yanks
had been seven to one on the early. Season The

(01:45:20):
a's won in ten innings twelve ten Over houston on
a three run homer From Brent rooker and The angels
in eleven innings Edge seattle eight to. Seven the golf
WINNER Jj spawn at The Texas, open taking it by one.
Stroke he had eagled the seventeenth to get a stroke
ahead Of Matt, wallace who had finished more than an hour,

(01:45:41):
before and then he finished out his round waiting to
see if anybody would match his. Score they did. Not
he takes the tournament a guy who's had over two
hundred and fifty starts in his career on, tour and
he's won three events to The Texas, opened plus THE
Us opened last, summer Beats rop McIntyre and. Others spon said,

(01:46:03):
afterwards my strategy was not to spiral end. Quote he
walked twenty six holes today after all the rains In
San antonio this, weekend so we had to finish his
third round. First said he kept trying to hit the safest.
Shots after, all he was at a place where after
nearly one hundred and fifty starts he finally won on.

(01:46:23):
Tour didn't have a lot of success right after that.
Though now he had some good results last, year but
this year with the. Expectations he, said it was a frustrating.
Start seven, tournaments four times missing the. CUT i put
a lot of pressure on myself to start this, year he.
Said now he gets a, victory off To. Augusta, yes

(01:46:46):
It's Master's week In, Augusta. Georgia the tournament begins This
thursday and this. Weekend the conclusion of The Augusta National
Women's amateur went to a college, Golfer Columbia's Maria Jose
marine when you're At, arkansas becoming the THIRD ncaa champion
to win At. Augusta one of those other, Ones rojang

(01:47:06):
Of Stanford marin was in a battle with A stanford,
recruit seventeen year old Golfer Asterisk. Tally that's the first, name.
Wow apparently the family Of greek. Descent they gave her
the name because it translates like the punctuation to little.
Star so that is her first. Name and here she's

(01:47:29):
got a chance to get a tournament victory At augusta
and completely blew it on the back nine a bogie on,
eleven and then the next hole te shot over the
green into the, bushes quadruple bogie. Seven that pretty much did.

Speaker 4 (01:47:43):
It right.

Speaker 7 (01:47:44):
There final round of seventy, five she finished six shots,
back and she was so teary eyed and. Emotional right
after finishing that last, round she, said it's not just
SCAUSE i didn't get it done, today it's actually because
everyone's been so. Supportive not just the family that was,
there But bryce and de'shambo for one offered words of

(01:48:04):
encouragement and a hug after she left the, course and
also THE lpga Legend atticaornstein was there and gave her a,
hug said don't let it beat you. Up you're the
best player out. There so all of, this even before
she ever gets To, stanford she'll remember this back nine
and Augusta. National she, said at LEAST i kept, fighting

(01:48:25):
kept my head in the right place the last few.
Holes but my parents they told me they love, me
that this doesn't define me as a. Player what happened out,
there she was, asked you, know have you ever hurt
like this after a law? Show definitely. Not if she
winds up eventually being as good a golfer as people
think she will, be maybe a bad weekend like this

(01:48:47):
one will be just a blip on the, screen a
small asterisk on her resume back to.

Speaker 2 (01:48:52):
You damn, it you stole it from. Me then, AGAIN
i think we all knew it was. Heading we know
what he's heading.

Speaker 7 (01:49:01):
There so when they hang a, curve you got to
hit it.

Speaker 3 (01:49:03):
Out they hit that. Thang, yeah hit that dang. Thing
that's for. Sure that's an amazing. Name, wait what's the last?

Speaker 7 (01:49:12):
Name as Risk Tally.

Speaker 2 (01:49:14):
TALLY i, mean the whole thing is just. Stats, wonderful,
wonderful great. Stuff as, Always, steve appreciate you. Tonight, hey my,
Man Steph curry looks. Winded just hit a big, three
a little.

Speaker 4 (01:49:35):
RUSTY i, Was it's.

Speaker 3 (01:49:39):
FUNNY i was, like it's pretty much par for the.

Speaker 2 (01:49:43):
Course just about every time somebody's either making their debut
or come back after a you, know long number of
games all or whatever it, is and everybody gets all
excited to see. Them and then you walk out and
you see them and you're immediately, like oh, man you
don't look.

Speaker 4 (01:50:01):
Right that's work to.

Speaker 3 (01:50:02):
Do but but that that makes, sense especially with.

Speaker 2 (01:50:05):
Uh he's one of those, players just Like clay was
and so many others that kind of do what they
do because of their ability to just be in constant
motion and run And i'm sure he's. Not he's not
turned all the way up and ready to do that.

Speaker 4 (01:50:26):
Yet, well it's good just to get him back on the,
court no. Doubt no matter what this looks, Like i'm
back out. There it's going bold well for you guys and.

Speaker 2 (01:50:35):
Playing but what what kind of chances do you give
them to make the?

Speaker 3 (01:50:38):
Playoffs H?

Speaker 2 (01:50:43):
Mmmm Game game one will either be.

Speaker 3 (01:50:48):
Because i'm just gonna go ahead and put him in the. Ten.
YEAH i know that they still could end up in the.

Speaker 2 (01:50:53):
Nine but, yeah but that's, yeah like they're very very
probably going to be the ten, seed which means you
are either At portland or at The clippers for game.
One the win both of those, Games, okay, okay so
if you if you win, that then you're probably At
phoenix after.

Speaker 4 (01:51:14):
THAT i give them that, too.

Speaker 3 (01:51:16):
Okay and then do you give them any games against
The Thunder? None? Sweep? Wow like?

Speaker 4 (01:51:27):
One, no.

Speaker 3 (01:51:32):
We'll give them.

Speaker 2 (01:51:33):
One actually we've been playing that game for a couple
of months now on the show up. Here i'm, like
IF i IF i put the over under on half
a game half of a playoff, win do you take
the over or the? Under and it sounds like you're

(01:51:53):
taking the. Under that's what it sounds.

Speaker 3 (01:51:57):
Like, hey that's Tough. Sleddin it's tough slaven. Bud.

Speaker 2 (01:52:06):
Yeah, AGAIN i put it way less than fifty to.
Fifty and but uh it. Is it is already more
watchable than it's. Been, yes that's for. Sure speaking of
things that we're going to be, watching it is quite
possible That Luka doncic is not going to be watched
anymore this. Year we'll see if The lakers are still

(01:52:28):
playing when he's. Healthy but our, man our Producer Ian,
roddy threw out an interesting quirk into the whole debate
About luca and postseason, awards AND i want to run
this by you and get your. Response coming up. Next
we are in The Fox Sports radio. Studios that is
he From. Salam I'm Mark. Willard this Is Fox Sports.

(01:52:50):
Radio all. Right we sit in The Fox Sports radio.
Studios THAT'S e From. Salama I'm Mark. Willard all, right
where do you sit on?

Speaker 4 (01:53:01):
This my?

Speaker 2 (01:53:02):
Man, so in order to compete for postseason, awards you
need to play in sixty five. Games that's the. Rule
luca's played in sixty. Four there is what amounts to
a special, waiver which his, Agent Bill duffy confirms they

(01:53:25):
will go for and basically the idea behind that is,
is do you get hurt really late in the Season number?
One number, two had you played in the correct percentage
of games up until that, point and then see where
there's some extenuating Circumstances and they did refer to the

(01:53:46):
birth of a child overseas and therefore that's what sort
of led To luca not playing enough games BEFORE i
bring in the other, point where do you sit on
this and the special waiver For?

Speaker 4 (01:54:02):
LUCA i, mean he's An ALL nba, Player he's in
the top three FOR mvp this. Year he got hurt
unfortunately three days, ago coming down the end of the.
Season it's not a lot of load management that was
happening with. Him SO i think he deserves to be

(01:54:26):
first Team ALL.

Speaker 3 (01:54:27):
NBA i, mean in, THEORY i agree with.

Speaker 2 (01:54:31):
You but what would you say to someone if they,
said you, know you know what would have allowed him
to play sixty five? Games don't get suspended for technical? Fouls?

Speaker 4 (01:54:43):
YEAH i get. THAT i mean that's part of the game,
though it, is but for, everybody but some people that
just what that's what. Happens MAN i, Mean i'm not gonna, say,
no you don't get to Be ALL nba because you
got you got sixteen technicals and got suspended a, game.

Speaker 3 (01:54:58):
Except for also part of the game are close.

Speaker 4 (01:55:01):
Losses, yes and that's what this. Is it's a close.

Speaker 2 (01:55:04):
Loss the fact that he's played sixty four games and
makes it so tantalizingly close to, me does not necessarily
like what if he had played sixty? Two what if
he had played fifty? Nine what if the injury had
happened two weeks?

Speaker 4 (01:55:17):
Ago, yeah, boy that's what you. Know if it was
a fifth we'd all be. Drunk, well but the fact
that he's leading the league in scoring and we'll finish
up leading the league in, scoring how does that guy
not make ALL?

Speaker 2 (01:55:30):
Nba, well but if we want to do, it if
it's the fifth, thing then you, know if he had
played sixty, five then he would have played.

Speaker 3 (01:55:36):
Sixty, five but he. Didn't that's also an.

Speaker 4 (01:55:40):
If, yeah but it's just a little bit different than
what you was just throwing out.

Speaker 3 (01:55:44):
There, well, NO i really don't think it. IS i,
MEAN i think that.

Speaker 2 (01:55:48):
This conversation is happening because he because he clearly deserved,
it and he came within, one and it's tantalizingly. Close
but you, know once upon a Time butler threw up
a shot from just inside half court for the national
championship and it went in and then went, out and we're, not, like,

(01:56:08):
well tantalizingly. Close so you, know let's talk about whether
or not you actually. Won AND i know That i'm being,
sarcastic but that's. Close losses are part of sports. Too,
LIKE i guess here's my. Point if you're gonna make the,
rule stick to the.

Speaker 4 (01:56:28):
Rule, yeah that rule was put in place because guys
were just not going to. Work for.

Speaker 3 (01:56:34):
SURE i get.

Speaker 4 (01:56:36):
It you have to every rule you have.

Speaker 3 (01:56:38):
To it's not the spirit of the.

Speaker 4 (01:56:40):
Rule, Yeah like you have to, understand like this man
was on a. Tear he's really trying to win THE,
mvp not save his. Legs i'm Julieh.

Speaker 2 (01:56:51):
I'm, YEAH i hear, YOU i really. Do BUT i
just think that stuff like this happens in sports all the.
Time here's a silly, one BUT i think it's from
the same place because it's a little bit less sort,
OF i don't, know it's not as. Sharp like they
bring a review into, baseball a handful of years. Ago

(01:57:14):
and let's say someone's trying to steal second base and
they beat the throw. There but because the human body
is the way it is and it's running full, speed
as the body hits second, base it invariably bounces just

(01:57:35):
a little, bit like just an. Inch and if you
slow this down to super super slow mo, replay if
a shortstop catches the ball from the catcher and keeps
the glove on the hitter the whole time as they
cross the base and his body bounces just a fraction

(01:57:56):
of an inch in, theory that was not the spirit
of the. Rule that was not the spirit of the.
Rule the spirit of the rule is we want to
start getting things right with regard to, whether like did
the ball beat you, there and did we tag you out?
Not we have the technology now that shows things so

(01:58:18):
intricate that we can now start calling people out who
completely beat the throat of the base and slid. Normally
and except for, now there's a human body, inevitability and
we're going to start calling guys out because of. That
that's not the spirit of the. Rule but even you
just said, it he's. OUT i, Mean i'm Playing devil's

(01:58:43):
advocate here. See but but for, real LIKE i don't,
know there's a big piece of me that wants to. Go,
BOY i get, it tough. Bananas so what happen is
because it's also just an, award, dude it's not even really.

Speaker 4 (01:58:59):
Like, yeah but money tied up to the. Contractual oh, boy.

Speaker 2 (01:59:03):
So the guy who makes sixty million dollars gets another.

Speaker 4 (01:59:06):
Two, HEY i mean you do the contract for a
reason because if you're able to make an ALL nba,
team that means you've done enough to help your team
be where they.

Speaker 3 (01:59:16):
Are but you do the rule for a reason.

Speaker 4 (01:59:18):
Too. Yeah and so here's a situation where you know
that could be a wards of fifty million, dollars that's
the bottom. LINE i could be up to fifty sixty million.
Dollars so, yeah it's not one point five or to,
know it's you, know all kinds of things kick in

(01:59:42):
if you're ALL, nba and whenever you're doing extent, extensions
you know it's they it's the rule is deeper than
just sixty five. Games, WELL i mean ALL nba, players
but ALL nba players come to the table and negotiate
little bit different than.

Speaker 2 (02:00:00):
Sure sure you're, SURE i totally get. IT i really
do get where you're coming. FROM i just don't a
hater right. Now, NO i THINK i have a. Point,
also this is a tough. One this is NOT i
don't think this is that.

Speaker 4 (02:00:12):
Easy but what you don't want Is luca to suit
up for one game on the tip ball and then
they foul and he don't sit. Down, no they won't do,
That but What i'm saying is that would count as a,
game and that's what you don't.

Speaker 3 (02:00:25):
Want we have to sit down. Now from Were gon

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